Seasonal Confusion

I suffer from an unusual disease...it's called "Seasonal Confusion." I realize you may not have heard of it before but believe me it IS real. It starts out as improperly placed desires for particular activities and smells associated with familiar times of the year. Then you find that your body revolts against the idea of a particular season because it doesn't feel right temperature wise. Then you find yourself asking questions. What season is it? What month is it? What holidays are we supposed to be celebrating.

I think for this New England New Hampshire girl it all started many years ago when I first moved to Florida. I went from four distinct seasons, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring to two...Hot and Hotter. Even though at times it didn't feel like a particular season I could convince myself otherwise by observing all of the holiday pharphenalia in the stores and diving head first into the celebrations.

Here in Africa it is a different story. Again, I find myself with two distinct seasons instead of four. We have HOT, rainy season and not so hot, dry season. On top of that I have changed hemispheres which means I am exactly opposite of what I have always known. I do not have reminders all around me. I forget holidays. I get confused about what season we are in. I feel as though we should be preparing for Summer, the beach, picnics, barbeques, fireworks, etc. Instead, it is getting cold. I am finding myself adding extra blankets at night, more layers of clothes during the day, SOCKS, and warm drinks. We are heading rapidly into Winter. How can this be? I should be smelling flowers in bloom, wet mud from the after snow thaws, the beach.

I guess it all just takes time to get used to it. Somehow though, I think this New Hampshire girl will always long for Summer barbeques, Autumn leaves, Winter snow and Spring flowers. It's just part of who I am.